In the battle for blockchain leadership, American innovation is the answer
'We must take the blockchain as an important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies, clarify the main direction, increase investment, and accelerate the development of blockchain technology.'
Those aren't my words. That's a quote from Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2019. And in the years since, China has certainly heeded his call.
Promotion of blockchain innovation was officially incorporated into China's most recent Five-Year Plan. China has also developed a Blockchain Service Network — a 'one-stop shop' for companies and governments to deploy blockchain-based applications in the cloud. And equally critically, they are training the workforce they need to make these efforts succeed, having recently launched a national blockchain research center, which aims to train 500,000 blockchain professionals.
This is sobering news for America, since blockchain has the potential to transform all aspects of our society. While most of us are familiar with blockchain because of its role in facilitating cryptocurrency transactions, this is simply a one-use case among many. The fundamental concept of a blockchain is the creation of an immutable, distributed ledger that can track and record transactions and data, all without external oversight. From self-executing 'smart contracts' to tracking physical shipments with unprecedented transparency, blockchain is about to revolutionize how the world conducts business.
If China succeeds in dominating the underlying infrastructure behind these innovations, the Chinese Communist Party will be able to exert unprecedented influence over the global economy. When the Internet took off in the 1990s, nobody could imagine how much it would change our lives. But fortunately, American innovators were at the forefront of that revolution — a reality that continues to pay dividends for our country to this day.
The good news is China's leadership is not preordained. To the contrary, it faces stiff competition from the U.S. For all of China's investments, American blockchain entrepreneurs still lead the world.
One of the questions I get asked most often in my role as the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party is whether we can outcompete it. My answer, for many reasons, is a resounding 'Yes!' The U.S. brings many advantages, but chief among them is our capacity to innovate, embrace disruptive technology and responsibly regulate those technologies in a way that protects society.
This three-part formula is the recipe for American success, and blockchain itself fits neatly within this pattern. In fact, scientists Stuart Haber and Scott Stornetta discovered the foundational basis for blockchain right here in America, nearly 20 years before Satoshi Nakamoto turned it into the code for bitcoin.
American companies are also among the most innovative users of blockchain technologies — creating tools that do everything from combating deepfakes to creating traceable supply chains.
Our responsibility now is to continue to develop responsible regulations for blockchain, including most immediately with respect to cryptocurrency, so that the U.S. will remain home to the deepest, most transparent markets worldwide.
Just as we have done in becoming pre-eminent in traditional equities, bonds and futures, we should build toward deep, liquid, fair and transparent markets for digital assets. That's why I supported the FIT21 Act last year. Our centrality to traditional financial markets is key to our national security, and we must recreate this winning model for cryptocurrency.
The stakes could not be higher, both for our nation's prosperity and our values.
While the beauty of blockchain rests in its power to decentralize, China wants to flip blockchain's purpose on its head and use it to centralize authority with the Chinese Communist Party. This explains why, even as China has embraced many uses of blockchain, it has tried to ban cryptocurrencies it doesn't control entirely.
The party is eager to use blockchain as a tool for surveillance or as a potential means of weaponizing international payment systems against the dollar. It is less eager to embrace uses that could threaten its own authority. Let's use that fear of decentralization against them.
The Chinese communists have no answer for America's tried-and-tested strategy of innovation, disruption and responsible regulation. If we embrace the opportunity to lead in blockchain innovation, and do so in a responsible manner, our prosperity and security can be safeguarded for the next generation. But if we don't, we will cede the field to our adversaries and be left behind.
Blockchain can be the building block for something great. It's up to us whether we seize the opportunity or pass it up.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
33 minutes ago
- The Hill
Newsom: Pentagon lying over LA to justify National Guard deployment
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday accused the Defense Department of 'lying to the American people' in justifying deploying National Guard troops to the state to quell Los Angeles protests against federal immigration raids, asserting that the situation intensified only when the Pentagon deployed troops. 'The situation became escalated when THEY deployed troops,' Newsom posted to X, referring to the Pentagon. 'Donald Trump has manufactured a crisis and is inflaming conditions. He clearly can't solve this, so California will.' Newsom was responding to a post from DOD Rapid Response on X, a Pentagon-run account, which claimed that 'Los Angeles is burning, and local leaders are refusing to respond.' President Trump on Saturday deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to the Los Angeles area amid the ICE protests, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the decision was made due to 'violent mobs' attacking 'Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations.' While protests have intensified in recent days, devolving at times into violence, the majority of gatherings have been largely peaceful. Still, California National Guard troops began arriving in Los Angeles on Sunday morning, with some 300 deployed on the ground later that day at three locations: Los Angeles proper, Paramount and Compton. White House officials have sought to highlight images of burning vehicles and clashes with law enforcement to make the case that the situation had gotten out of control. 'The people that are causing the problem are professional agitators. They're insurrectionists. They're bad people. They should be in jail,' Trump told reporters on Monday. In addition, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened to deploy approximately 500 U.S. Marines to the city, with U.S. Northern Command on Sunday confirming the service members were 'prepared to deploy.' The use of American troops has rankled California officials, who have said the federal response 'inflammatory' and said the deployment of soldiers 'will erode public trust.' Newsom also has traded insults with Hegseth, calling him 'a joke,' and that the idea of deploying active duty Marines in California was 'deranged behavior.' 'Pete Hegseth's a joke. He's a joke. Everybody knows he's so in over his head. What an embarrassment. That guy's weakness masquerading as strength. . . . It's a serious moment,' Newsom said in an interview with podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen. The tit-for-tat continued when chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell then took to X on Monday to attack Newsom. 'LA is on FIRE right now, but instead of tackling the issue, Gavin Newsom is spending his time attacking Secretary Hegseth,' Parnell wrote. 'Unlike Newsom, [Hegseth] isn't afraid to lead.' Newsom, who has formally demanded the Trump administration pull the National Guard troops off the streets, has declared the deployment 'unlawful' and said California will sue the Trump administration over its actions. 'There is currently no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles, and to do so in this unlawful manner and for such a lengthy period is a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation,' David Sapp, Newsom's legal affairs secretary, wrote in a letter to Hegseth on Sunday. 'Accordingly, we ask that you immediately rescind your order and return the National Guard to its rightful control by the State of California, to be deployed as appropriate when necessary.' In the past 60 years, a U.S. president has only on one occasion mobilized a state's National Guard troops without the consent of its governor to quell unrest or enforce the law. That was in 1965, when former President Lyndon Johnson sent Guard members to Selma, Ala., to protect civil rights protesters there.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen resigns to take job with conservative nonprofit
Colorado Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Monument Republican, listens to opening day proceedings on the first day of the 2025 session of the Colorado Legislature on Jan. 8, 2025, at the Colorado Capitol. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline) Senate Minority Paul Lundeen announced Monday that he is resigning from the Legislature to join the leadership of a conservative nonprofit. His resignation is effective immediately. 'Serving Colorado has been an honor and blessing,' the Monument Republican said in a statement. 'I am grateful to the people of Senate District 9 for the opportunity to fight for policies that empower individuals, protect our communities, and promote prosperity. As I transition to a national platform, I am eager to continue advocating for personal freedom, economic opportunity, and common-sense conservative values.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He will lead the American Excellence Foundation, an organization that awards grants to advance conservative public policy. Lundeen served as a state representative from 2015 to 2018 and as a senator since 2019. He is term-limited and could not seek re-election in 2026. Before his time in the Legislature, he served on the State Board of Education, including as chair for two years. He worked on an array of education-related policies while in office. The Senate Republican caucus will meet on Thursday evening to select a new minority leader. A vacancy committee of Republicans from Senate District 9 will also need to meet to select a replacement for Lundeen. In a statement, Gov. Jared Polis thanked Lundeen for his public service. 'Paul has always found ways to work across the aisle, and do what is best for the people he has served,' the Democrat wrote. 'We've often found common ground on the issues that matter most to Coloradans, like education, public safety and growing our economy. Senator Lundeen has spent decades in public service, in addition to his time leading small businesses, and his presence and leadership will be missed at the Capitol.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip to face new murder trial but without death penalty
Oklahoma's top prosecutor said Monday that the state intends to pursue a new murder trial against Richard Glossip but without the death penalty after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated his capital conviction in a rare victory for a death row prisoner. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond's decision to retry Glossip, 62, on a first-degree murder charge came out of a status conference hearing. Drummond said in a news release that the evidence still implicates Glossip in the 1997 murder of Oklahoma City motel owner Barry Van Treese. Glossip, a motel manager working for Van Treese, has maintained his innocence while on death row for almost three decades. While Drummond, a Republican, has not agreed with Glossip's innocence claims, he was supportive of the Supreme Court's ruling in February, when the majority of justices agreed, as Drummond put it, that "it is now an undeniable fact that he did not receive a fair trial." Drummond said Monday that he would ensure Glossip now receives an impartial trial. "While it was clear to me and to the U.S. Supreme Court that Mr. Glossip did not receive a fair trial, I have never proclaimed his innocence," Drummond said in a statement. "After the high court remanded the matter back to district court, my office thoroughly reviewed the merits of the case against Richard Glossip and concluded that sufficient evidence exists to secure a murder conviction." Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna, a Democrat, had previously indicated that Glossip would not be eligible for the death penalty now if he were to be retried. Drummond said he would seek a life sentence for Glossip at his next trial. "While I cannot go back 25 years and handle the case in the proper way that would have ensured true justice, I still have a duty to seek the justice that is available today," he added. The continuation of the state's prosecution against Glossip resumes a twisting case that saw him dodge death several times with nine separate execution dates that had to be postponed. Various courts delayed the executions as he appealed, while state corrections officials also came under scrutiny a decade ago for botched execution attempts. But Glossip's case had been championed in recent years by a bipartisan group of Oklahoma legislators after an independent report they commissioned in 2022 found that "no reasonable jury hearing the complete record would convict Glossip of first-degree murder." The report centered on the state's primary witness, Justin Sneed, who had confirmed to the report's investigators that he had discussions with multiple family members about "recanting" his testimony over an 11-year period. Investigators also said the district attorney's case file included documentation describing how the state provided Sneed information "so he could conform his testimony to match the evidence" from other witnesses. Glossip's original 1998 conviction was overturned in 2001, when a state appeals court found that the evidence against him was weak. But the state took him to trial again, and a second jury found him guilty in 2004. At Glossip's trial, Sneed, a motel handyman, admitted that he had killed Van Treese, but said that it was at Glossip's direction and that he had been promised $10,000. In exchange for testifying against Glossip, Sneed received a life sentence while Glossip was given the death penalty. Prosecutors said Glossip orchestrated the plot because he was embezzling from the motel and feared being fired. The Supreme Court on Monday tossed out Glossip's capital conviction in a 5-3 ruling. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate, presumably because he was involved in the case when he was on a federal appeals court that includes Oklahoma. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the majority's ruling that prosecutors "knew Sneed's statements were false" and that "because Sneed's testimony was the only direct evidence of Glossip's guilt of capital murder, the jury's assessment of Sneed's credibility was necessarily determinative here." "Hence, there is a reasonable likelihood that correcting Sneed's testimony would have affected the judgment of the jury," she added. After the Supreme Court's decision, Glossip was moved off death row, but was held without bail in the Oklahoma County Detention Center on a first-degree murder charge. A next court date in Glossip's case is scheduled for June 17. Glossip's attorney, Don Knight, did not immediately comment about the prosecutors' decision, but he welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling in February that spared his longtime client from the death chamber. "He had nine execution dates, three last meals, and obviously, to finally get relief has been huge for him," Knight said, "and he's thrilled beyond words." This article was originally published on
